This specially themed ""Getting of Wisdom," Learning in Later Life" Edition of the "Australian Journal of Adult Learning" ("AJAL") is not so much concerned with the issue of ageing itself, but more about quality of life regardless of age. It is about taking, but also giving back as best as possible at any…

This article examines the kind of space formed by philosophical discussion of education with lower-income, adult learners making their way back to structured education amidst work and life responsibilities. It explores two new social contexts that define this experience of return to education. The first is the sociability of philosophical…

In accelerating fast changing knowledge-based and information societies such like the European Union technology dominates most facets of our everyday lives, and learning activities as well. Unfortunately, particularly seniors and elderly people suffer the risk to be left behind, and that the digital divide becomes bigger. This is problematic…

The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC) is the Federal Statutory Agency set up to co-ordinate all aspects of Non-Formal Education in Nigeria whether offered by government agencies or non-governmental organisations. This study looked at the existing Capacity Building Programme, the delivery methods, impact…

Adult education in healthcare comes in several forms: degree and certificate programs aimed at preparing better academic and clinical educators; and community education programs aimed at wellness, rehabilitation, or learning to live with chronic diseases. Patient-centered healthcare, however, is part of something new: coordinated and transitional…

A number of resources provide psycholinguistic researchers with information about the words that the typical child or adult knows in a variety of languages. What is currently not available is a resource that provides information about the words that a typical adult learning a foreign language knows. We created such a resource for Spanish: The…

The tenth annual Boston Opportunity Agenda Report Card takes a closer look at the impact of two years of pandemic on the achievement of students on key indicators from kindergarten through college and adult education. It finds mixed results for Boston's public and public charter school students, with some areas seeing much larger changes triggered…

In partnership with the ECMC Foundation, Jobs for the Future is leading an effort to explore how postsecondary competency-based education models can be adapted to better serve underprepared adult learners. JFF kicked off this initiative with a convening of educators, policymakers, and researchers, the results of which are captured in this paper.…

The European Agenda for Adult Learning defines the focus for European cooperation in adult education policies for 2012-2020. The Agenda highlights the need to increase participation in adult learning of all kinds (formal, non-formal and informal) either to acquire new work skills, or for active citizenship, or for personal development and…

This article provides an overview of collaborative service learning activities as they are incorporated into university curricula designed for the nontraditional student. The basic tenets of the concept of "andragogy" are briefly reviewed to emphasize the special considerations that need to be addressed to ensure the successful inclusion of…

Adult educators often struggle with finding creative ways to help students understand adult learning theories and applications of those theories in professional practice. Media analysis of popular culture can uncomplicate this task by engaging learners in understanding concepts, principles or theories (Baumgartner & Merriam, 1999). The purpose of…

An athletic coach's focus is to develop individual skills as well as the collective capacity of the team to perform at the highest level. A coaching culture applies the same concept to schools. While coaching in schools is not new, what is fundamentally different in a culture of coaching is that all members of the school community see themselves…

Mass incarceration in America is a moral, economic, and societal crisis with serious implications for many men of color and high school non-completers who are incarcerated at proportionally higher rates than Whites or college graduates. For the formerly incarcerated, engagement in adult learning, whether high school equivalency (HSE) or college,…

This article describes and summarizes the author's experience of teaching in Italy for three months and the impact it had on him and his learning. The author, at the age of 61, lived in Italy for three months and here he reflects on what he learned and how it relates to adult learning theory concepts.

Over the period of this journal's life the education of adults has been changed and developed in a wide variety of ways: the same phenomenon--adult learning--has been given a variety of meanings and the education of adults has assumed many titles. The aim of this paper is to unravel some of the changes that have occurred in this field during this…